A new treatment for motion sickness in patients with migraines was reported by a group of doctors from Pittsburgh. Giving migraine sufferers who are prone to motion sickness a migraine drug, rizatriptan (Maxalt) prevented motion sickness. There were 25 subjects in the study and 15 of them developed motion sickness after being rotated in the darkness. Of these 15 patients, 13 showed decreased motion sickness after being pretreated with rizatriptan. This was a small study and not all patients benefited, but this is an option that should be considered in patients who suffer from severe motion sickness. It is likely that the effect is not specific to rizatriptan, but that sumatriptan (Imitrex), eletriptan (Relpax) and other triptans are also effective. However, just like when treating migraine attacks, it is possible that some patients will respond better to one triptan and others to another.
